Tresendar Manor
Tresendar Manor is an ancient noble household manor which sits atop a hill in the town of Phandalin. While it once belonged to the Tresendar family, it has seen varied occupants over the many years it has stood. Currently, the manor is the headquarters of the Shady Bunch Company, an incorporated adventuring company. History The manor was built sometime before 951DR to house the Tresendar noble family. The Tresendar Family was a noble family that lived in Phandalin before Uruth Ukrypt wiped out the town and laid waste to the settlement in 951 DR. The manor, along with the whole town, was abandoned during that time. Most of the members of the Tresendar Family were buried in the crypt below the manor. Sometime after the Spellplague, some members of the family had risen as undead defending the cellars of Tresendar Manor. One notable member of the Tresendar Family was Aldith Tresendar, who was also known as the "Black Hawk". Sir Aldith was a great knight who died fighting the orcs of Uruth Ukrypt during their rampages on the town in 951 DR. The orcs found the hidden caverns under Tresendar Manor, and Sir Aldith fought them there. Aldith carried with him a magical blade in a silver-chased scabbard that was inscribed with the name "Talon". The hilt of the blade was shaped into a majestic bird with its wings stretched out wide. Talon was lost in the caverns under the manor until a nothic found the blade. The manor lay abandoned for hundreds of years until Phandalin was resettled sometime in the 1400s. However, attempts to occupy the manor failed due to a supposed curse that enveloped the house. In 1488DR, a band of outlaws called the Redbrands moved into Phandalin and began to cause havok for the town. They took over the caverns beneath the manor and transformed them into a base of operations, sure to stay clear of the crypts that housed the resting Tresendar family. The following year, an adventuring group called the Shady Bunch Company helped to rid the town of the Redbrand menace and in doing so, cleared the caverns beneath the manor of the temporary base of operations. They also disturbed and eliminated the undead Tresendar family, effectively lifting the so-called curse upon the manor and laying the family to rest. In the caverns, they also encountered the nothic living there. The party kept the nothic alive and Sir Aldith's lost sword, Talon, was recovered by Damian Cross. Areas of Interest Within and immediately surrounding the manor are many points of interest and note. Entry Hall Tresendar's entry hall is a beautifully adorned classic foyer with checkered black and white marble tiled floors. Though townsfolk from Phandalin came in and cleaned up prior to gifting the manor to the Shady Bunch, remnants of long time abandonment can still be found in nooks and crannies. Kitchens Tresendar Manor's kitchens are both large and cramped. The square room is positively full to the brim with cabinets, logfire stoves, hanging pots, and bookshelves. In the time of the nobles' occupation of the manor, these large kitchens would have been kept and worked by servants. Now, however, the kitchens are the most likely place for one to find Gal Fiori, a dragonborn chef of some renown who provides meals to the Shady Bunch Company, provided they are at the manor to eat them, and sometimes even when they aren't. Library The manor's library was at one time the envy of noble families up and down the Sword Coast. During the cleanup effort it was the library that saw the most effort to restore. Here, the tomes that line the walls are still being cataloged and carefully tended to by Godric Goodnight, a young human wizard. On one side of the library, an office has also been set up by Faydra Rockseeker who is acting as financial adviser to the Shady Bunch Company and liaison to the newly re-opened Mines of Phandelver. Cellar In the cellar, the manor houses a surprise: a gnomish vault. The locking mechanism to the vault is damaged and thus the vault cannot be locked. It is, however, currently opened and empty. Recently, Fithin Swiftsteel of the Shady Bunch has been studying the mechanism and making attempts to repair it. Caverns Beneath the cellar lies a natural cavern. Within the natural caves, the Tresendar family had a crypt crafted into the stone itself to be their final resting place. More recently, the outlaw band called the Redbrands setup a base of operations here, which the Shady Bunch cleared out. A twenty foot deep chasm splits the cavern in two and is the home of a nothic who has been allowed to stay. During the autumn, some say that a strange song can be heard from the cavern's depths, but no one knows why.